Mariska Hargitay

The Emmy Award-winning actress is best known to TV viewers as street-smart detective Olivia Benson on NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Offscreen, Hargitay is an unabashed food lover, in addition to being a frequent traveler, devoted mother, and the founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation, a women’s support organization. We spoke with Hargitay about the balancing act that is her life, her love of food, and why Italy is where her heart lies.

Which do you prefer, eating or cooking?

Eating. Especially if it’s not my turn to do the dishes.

You have proclaimed your love for dark chocolate on your Web site [mariska.com]. What is it about chocolate that draws people in?

Chocolate is the first luxury. It has so many things wrapped up in it: deliciousness in the moment, childhood memories, and that grin-inducing feeling of getting a reward for being good.

What keeps you sane and well nourished on the set?

Non-fattening dark chocolate fortified with all the vitamins and nutrients I need…I wish. Actually, it’s largely about staying away from the craft-services table and making sure there isn’t a bag of chips in my hand when we’re waiting to get our last shot at 1:00 a.m.

You founded the Joyful Heart Foundation (JHF) in 2004 to help empower and heal assault survivors. In addition to guided therapy, the programs include retreats to strengthen the mind and body with balanced meals and nutrition. How does food play a part in the healing process?

Survivors have had to experience some of the worst that life has to offer. In contrast, we have seen so often on our JHF retreats how powerfully healing a meal can be when it is prepared with love and shared in a community. The experience of being cared for is profound, and it nourishes the soul as much as the food does the body. The act of gathering together to eat doesn’t make wounds disappear, but it does create a safe space where those wounds can be tended with love.

Which food or drink provides you with the most comfort or reassurance?

It’s hard to say. But there does seem to be a magical component to a good plate of mac and cheese that can cure whatever my current ailment might be.

Where was your most memorable meal?

I was on the Amalfi Coast one summer, and a friend ordered a caprese salad at a restaurant on the beach called La Conca del Sogno. I took a bite of a tomato, and suddenly I was eating Italy—the sunshine, the ocean, Rome, Tuscany, the cliffs in Sicily, and all the rest of it—in a single bite. The meal couldn’t have been simpler, but it was sublime.

What’s your favorite thing about Italy?

Italian culture is so deeply soaked in an appreciation of the good things in life. People don’t sit around the table after a beautiful meal and say to each other, “Look, everybody pay attention, these are the good things in life.” It’s just what’s done; it’s the way it is. And the sound of the Italian language just fills me with joy. Explaining it is like trying to explain music.

You speak Hungarian, French, and Italian. Does that help you appreciate the cuisines of those countries?

Throwing down in the language department impresses the waiters, and that’s always a good thing. But the best thing is that it expands the possibility of friendship. On the other hand, even in places where I can’t speak the language, food always gets some kind of dialogue going, even if it’s only a smile that says how great that last bite was.

What is your next culinary destination?

I know it would be more interesting to say Southeast Asia or Peru or Morocco, but it’s Italy for me. I want to find those tomatoes again.